The Worst Movie Ever Made? with Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson
What actually makes a movie “bad”? In this bonus episode, Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson of the film podcast Unspooled tell Sarah the story of what many consider to be the worst film of all time: the 1987 adventure comedy Ishtar. From the movie’s chaotic production to its perplexing public ridicule, together they analyze whether Ishtar is as bad as people say or if our culture just loves to jump on a snarky bandwagon. Digressions include James Cameron schadenfreude, $19 AMC pretzels, and The Hangover for the AARP crowd.
More Unspooled:
https://www.unspooledpodcast.com/
Produced + edited by Miranda Zickler:
linktr.ee/mirandatheswampmonster
More You're Wrong About:
linktr.ee/ywapod
Comments (21)
The Far Side had at least one other bad pop culture gag involving Madonna falling in a life raft and her then iconic metal bra popping holes in its bottom. Apology accepted, sheer
belated new year's resolution: more movies! I took up Sarah's advice to do a Movie Hat and have been really enjoying it.
Paul has bad takes 💯 Elaine May stay difficult queen 💯 Mikey and Nicky and A New Leaf some of the best films of all time 💯 don’t listen to him girl
Sarah, needing your input on the state of figure skating in 2026!
sarah please comment on alysa liu our new olympic champion!!!!!!!!!! 🥇✨
Literally opened Patreon just to make this comment - glad someone else got here first!
I never even knew this movie had a bad reputation! When I graduated highschool in 2011, my favourite English teacher, who i considered to be very clever and with good taste, said this was her favourite movie. I didnt ever hear a single other thing about it, or know what it was about, and didnt end up seeing it until I was about 30, and when I finally did, I still only had the thought of it being one of my favourite teachers' movies when I saw it; which maybe had a placebo effect or bias in the complete opposite direction of others who have walked into it after hearing its the Worst. I thought it was funny and interesting
wild for this man to allude to people nitpicking over taylor swift's choice of symbols like she wasn't invoking neonazi dogwhistles. methinks that is something worth nitpicking!
Suggesting the solution to an Elaine May film is to hand the script off to Ari Aster is crazy....
On the topic of movie sets where the star is in charge, not the director - "The Ghost of Peter Sellers" is a great case study documentary
I watched High Tension when I was a stoned teen and had the same exact same reaction- this movie rules but the ending made no sense. So glad someone brought this up !
This was fun and a perfect podcast to listen to while shoveling snow, but omg Paul could not stop dominating the conversation. He spoke 2+ words for every word the women spoke combined. It was incredibly ironic at the end when he’s loquaciously saying how important film critics are as he TALKS OVER the actual film critic in the conversation. I get that men gonna men, but its not what I am used to from this podcast lately
Oof. Thanks for saying iiiit
GREAT episode (As always)! In terms of The Wiz, the film has its issues but the stage play is PHENOMENAL!!! If you ever get a chance to see it, it’s one of the very best!
Great episode! I really liked Paul's suggestions for keeping movie theaters alive. Our local independent theater shows classic movies regularly alongside the new ones. Sometimes they create movie events like having a "dude fest" before a showing of the Big Lebowski). They also do special movie themed cocktails and food. Other events include interactive movies and sing-alongs. It's always busy there, while the regal seems dead. This proves Paul's point. Make the movies an event again
OMG. There needs to be an episode on the Melania movie! I for sure will not pay money to see it. But, I gotta know if there is anything redeeming about it!
To give her her due, Isabelle Adjani is a legendary actress, just watch her in Possession. I have a fondness for Ishtar, which I watched as a kid before knowing that it was supposed to be Bad. My favorite would-be jingle is "I'm looking for software, software, software, software. I'm looking for software ...for my PC"
The town in Morocco is pronounced “wah-zah-zaht”
I'm not entirely sure where to post this, but I hope that Sarah will enjoy it. In your most recent main feed episode, on Keiko, you contemplated what a crossover between "Free Willy" and "The Phantom of the Opera" would look like. Well... I think it would look something like this extract from Disney's 1946 Animated Film, "Make Mine Music". It's called "The Whale Who Wanted to Sing at the Met", and it's quite something! Just beware, it does have a sad ending... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CusA2DhKXMs
Wow, this is really cool. Thank you for sharing!
LOVE it when my faves do a crossover!!!!!!